Valves



July 29,1958 c, c oLs I 2,845,089

' VALVES.

Original Filed Jan. 27, 1954 l A I I I Chester R lvz'ckols United StatesPatent VALVES Chester R. Nickols, Sycamore, Ill., assignor to- ElginSoftener. Corporation, Elgin, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Originalapplication January 27, 1954, Serial No. 406,419. Divided and thisapplication March 12, 1954, Serial No. 415,764

8 Claims. (Cl. 137-5135) This application is a division of my copendingapplication, Serial No. 406,419, filed'lanuary 27, 1954 This inventionrelates to valves and more particularly a nonstop leak or bleeder valveespecially designed and adapted for use as a rinse control valve for anautomatic or semiautomatic water softener to time the rinse period byrelating it to the time it takes to refill the brine compartment,thereby insuring the passing of an adequate amount of rinse waterthrough the water softener regardless of such variations in waterpressure as are bound to occur, inasmuch as the change in water pressurewill, of course, affect the refill operation proportionately. This callsfor an accurately adjustable, non-clogging type of leak or bleedervalve, which it is the principal object of my present invention toprovide in a simple and economical form.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which- Fig.1 is a longitudinal section through a rinse control valve made inaccordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the valve, and

Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Thesame reference-numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughoutthese views.

Referring to the drawing, the rinse control valve is connected at 13'with a pipe leading downwardly to the brine tank of a water softener fordrawing brine therefrom and subsequently delivering raw water theretofor the production of the next charge of brine, another pipe beingconnected at 14 leading to the multiple valve that establishes differentsystems of communication between the water softener, brine tank, asource of raw water'supply,.a service system, and a drain, in thesoftening operation, and: the several steps of regeneration, namely,backwash, brining and rinsing. It will suffice for the present purposesto state that in the salt draw or brining position of said multiplevalve, brine flows upwardly through the pipe to connection 13 into valve10 and out through the pipe connected at 14', and then in the nextposition of said multiple valve, namely, the rinse position, raw wateris delivered at 14' to valve 10' and flows downwardly through the pipeconnected at 13 to the brine compartment to refill it, and, whereas thebrine flow first described is unrestricted, the refill flow lastmentioned is restricted almost to a trickle in relation to the rinseflow that is going on through the softener at the time, in order toprolong the rinse to the extent required for good and adequate rinsingof the bed in the softener, the rinse period being timed, as disclosedin my Patent No. 2,799,294, issued July 16, 1957, by relating it to thetime it takes to refill the brine compartment, thereby insuring thepassing of an adequate amount of rinse water through the softenerregardless of such variations in water pressure as are bound to occur,inasmuch as any change in water pressure will, of course, affect therefill operation proportionately. The timing involves the adjustment ofa screw 15' to restrict the flow through a bleeder opening or openings16' provided below the ball check-valve 18' cooperatingwith the seat 33.The check-valve unseats to allow unrestricted outflowof. brine throughthe valve 10. from 13' to 14' during salt draw or brining but closesunder pressure of raw water flowing in the opposite. direction tovrestrict the flow for refillipurposes, the refill flow rate beingdetermined by the accurate, adjustment of screw 15. Thus, sincethe valve18' unseatseach time the fiow is from 13 to 14', any foreign matter suchas grit from thenonsoluble portions of the salt, and any dirt or.sediment: that might have collected between the check-valve 18' and theslots 16' will be cleared out by the brine flow. A lock nut 22' servesthe double purpose of locking the screw 15 in adjusted position andcompressing a rubber gasket ring 37 to prevent leakage.

In other words, the valve 10 allows unrestricted flow of brine upwardlytherethrough, namely, from the pipe connection 13' to the pipeconnection 14 but only a very restricted flow in the opposite direction,namely, in the refilling of the brine tank or compartment. This valve10' comprises a main body part 24 on which another body part 25is'swivelled to permit making the pipe connections at 13' and 14 inlongitudinal planes in whatever angular relationship to one another isdesired; The tubular extension 26 of body part 24 has annular grooves 27and 28 provided therein, and a set-screw 29 threaded in the body part 25engages in groove 27 to fasten the body parts in any desiredadjuste-dswivelled relationship, while a" compressible resilient O-ring30 is seated in groove 28 and compressed by engagement with the walls ofbody part 25'to prevent leakage. The upper end portion 31 of thetubularportion 26 is reduced, whereby to provide a. sediment collecting chamber32 in the body part 25 below the'upper end of the reduced portion 31,where a valve seat 33 is'provided for engagement by the ball check-valve18'. A narrow elongated metering slot or port 16 is providedin the upperend of the reduced portion 31', and a metering valve or quill 34 workinginside the tubular portion 26 is provided as an integral partof theadjusting screw 15 for adjustment lengthwise of port 16' for fineadjustment of the refill'fiow. The upper end of the bore of the quill 34is chamfered, as indicated at 35, to provide operating clearance for theball 18 in the event of too close adjustment. Radial ports 36 in thelower portion of the quill allow unrestricted flow of brine through thequill in one direction and refill water in the other direction; Acompressible resilient gasket 23' seats in a recess 37 in the lowerportion of thebody part 24 and is compressed by the tightening of alock-nut 22' to hold' the quill 34in adjusted position andat the sametime prevent leakage from the valve 10'. The hollow semi-sphericalreduced upper end portion 38 of the body part 25 serves as a cage orretainer for the ball 18 allowing the ball to move far enough oil theseat 33 during brine flow so that there is no restriction to such flow.

The provision of chamber 32 for the collection of any solids during theslow refill flow reduces likelihood of clogging port 16', and anyparticles settling in chamber 32 are certain to be flushed out when theflow is reversed for salt draw or brining. Also, this construction makesfor accuracy in and permits fine adjustment of the refill flow. Thefreedom from clogging and the improved adjustment together account forthe good all-around performance of this valve.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding ofthe objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims havebeen drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. A check valve structure comprising a body having a tubular portionterminating in a valve seat, a check valve element arranged to engagethe seat when fluid flows in one direction through the body, saidtubular portion having an elongated metering slot provided thereinlongitudinally thereof opening inwardly from the valve seat, wherebysaid check valve element when seated closes the open end of said slot,and a tube adjustable in telescoping relation to said tubular portion sothat its one end moves lengthwise relative to the inner end of said slotto close more or less of the length thereof.

2. A check valve structure comprising a body having a tubular portionterminating in a valve seat, a check valve element arranged to engagethe seat when fluid flows in one direction through the body, saidtubular portion extending upwardly in laterally spaced relation to theside walls of a sediment chamber provided in said body and having anelongated metering slot provided therein longitudinally thereof openinginwardly from the valve seat, whereby said check valve element whenseated closes the open end of said slot, and a tube adjustable intelescoping relation to said tubular portion so that its one end moveslengthwise relative to the inner end of said slot to close more or lessof the length thereof.

3. A check valve structure comprising a body having a tubular portionterminating in a valve seat, a ball check valve arranged to engage theseat when fluid flows in one direction through the body, said tubularportion having an elongated metering slot provided thereinlongitudinally thereof opening inwardly from the valve seat, wherebysaid ball check valve when seated closes the open end of said slot, anda tube slidably adjustable with a close fit inside said tubular portionso that its one end moves lengthwise relative to the inner end of saidslot to cover more or less of the length thereof, said tube having saidend chamfered internally to aflord clearance for the ball check valvewhen said end is adjusted to close proximity to said ball.

4. A check valve structure comprising a body having a tubular portionterminating in a valve seat, a ball check valve arranged to engage theseat when fluid flows in one direction through the body, said tubularportion extending upwardly in laterally spaced relation to the sidewalls of a sediment chamber provided in said body and having anelongated metering slot provided therein longitudinally thereof openinginwardly from the valve seat, whereby said ball check valve when seatedcloses the open end of said slot, and a tube slidably adjustable with aclose fit inside said tubular portion so that its one end moveslengthwise relative to the inner end of said slot to cover more or lessof the length thereof, said tube having said end chamfered internally toafford clearance for the ball check valve when said end is adjusted toclose proximity to said ball.

5. A check valve structure comprising two interconnected hollow bodyparts whose connected male and female portions are assembled inswivelled relationship permitting disposition of inlet and outletfittings radially connected to said parts at any desired angle withrespect to one another for widened adaptability of the structure, themale portion on one of said body parts being of elongated tubular formhaving a bore longitudinally thereof and a valve seat at the outer endof said bore, a check valve element arranged to engage said valve seatwhen fluid flows in one direction through the bore, said male portionhaving an elongated metering slot provided therein longitudinallythereof communicating with the bore and opening inwardly away from saidvalve seat, whereby to allow fluid to bypass said check valve whenseated, and a tubular member adjustable endwise in the bore in said maleportion so that its one end is adjustable along said slot andaccordingly regulates the bypass flow therethrough.

6. A check valve structure as set forth in claim 5, wherein said tubularmember extends through and communicates with the body part having saidmale portion and is threadedly adjustable in an opening provided in saidbody part in remote relation to said male portion, which opening isaxially aligned with the bore in said male portion, whereby said tubularmember is adjustable from outside said structure.

7. A check valve structure as set forth in claim 5, wherein said bodypart having the female portion is formed internally to provide asediment collecting chamber below and remote from said valve seat andmetering slot.

8. A check valve structure as set forth in claim 5, wherein the maleportion has two annular grooves provided therein into one of whichgrooves the inner end of a set screw threaded in the female portion isengaged to prevent disassembling of the body parts and fasten themreleasably in swivelled adjusted relation, and in the other of whichgrooves is disposed a compressible resilient O ring which is compressedin the assembly of the body parts to prevent leakage while permittingswivel adjustment of said body parts relative to one another.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS412,651 McElroy Oct. 8, 1889 753,999 Mosher Mar. 8, 1904 796,985 BrownAug. 15, 1905 1,852,717 Grinnell Apr. 5, 1932 1,890,494 Borden Dec. 13,1932 2,601,968 Danielson July 1, 1952 2,703,582 Stepanian Mar. 8, 1955

